“It is astounding to see yet another manufacturer (remove safety equipment from) their models for our local market.

“(Automatic emergency braking) is a proven life saver and all manufacturers should be doing their utmost to bring this technology to the market today.”

Fellow Japanese car maker Mazda was also taken to task by ANCAP last year for deleting the same technology on the CX-5 SUV and Mazda3 small car, even though it is available on overseas models.

Volvo was first to introduce the technology in 2008 — using a radar and laser to “read” the traffic ahead before intervening if the driver hasn’t.

Since then other brands have followed, including Volkswagen, who made it standard equipment on its cheapest model, the $15,000 Volkswagen Up hatchback.

“The lack of (automatic emergency braking) cannot be a matter of cost as it is available on other less expensive cars,” said Mr McIntosh.

A statement from Nissan Australia spokesman Peter Fadeyev said: “Autonomous Emergency Braking is available on the European … Nissan Qashqai, but this technology on this model is currently confined to the European market.

“We requested it for the Australian Qashqai, but at this time it’s simply not available for our market but we are continuing work to have it fitted to our vehicle in the future.”

Automatic emergency braking is seen as the next great road safety advancement after the seatbelt, airbags and stability control (which can prevent a skid in a corner).

Automatic emergency braking technology has been mandatory for cars in Europe hoping to earn a five-star safety rating from January this year.

But Australian safety authorities won’t mandate automatic braking technology for a five-star rating until 2018, the year after local manufacturing closes.

News.com.au's Privacy Policy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted content and advertising based on your online activities). It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature.